Sticks and Stones
by Khilari
Summary: Jane tries to understand why Thor attempted to kill someone the Avengers were fighting over an insult.


Jane entered Thor's cell with a sense of trepidation, not that he might hurt her but that whatever he had to say could only shock her further.

He smiled at her, the same way as always. 'Jane!' he said. 'They have let you visit?'

'Yes,' said Jane. She walked over to sit on the narrow cot next to him. 'They said you tried to kill someone earlier.'

'Of course,' said Thor, face darkening. 'He called me a nithing.'

That fit with what Jane had heard. That a villain, not even one of the serious supervillains but one they could have taken down without even hurting, had called Thor a name and Thor had gone mad. They'd ended up having to fight Thor to save their enemy. Fortunately Thor's sudden madness seemed focused on only one person, and he'd stopped rather than kill fellow Avengers.

'What does that mean?' asked Jane.

'It means…there is no translation in your language.' Thor sounded annoyed, faced with the sudden inability to communicate. The annoyance of someone who does not like puzzles faced with an important one. 'Monster?' He shook his head. 'Outlaw, wolf, strangler, less than a person. Someone who should die for the good of all.'

'Okay,' said Jane slowly. 'So…that's a pretty serious insult. But on Midgard we don't kill over people calling us names.'

Thor's look was purely incredulous.

'In modern day America,' Jane amended. 'Which I know you're not that familiar with, but you really can't…kill people…over calling you names.' Jane took a deep breath to stop her calm unravelling. It really was disturbing, that Thor had been willing to kill so casually, however much she told herself it was just a matter of culture. What else might someone from his culture consider a good reason to kill?

Thor took her hand, very gently. 'I have frightened you,' he said, sounding regretful for the first time. 'But surely you would not wish to lose me?'

'To…lose you?'

'A warrior must always be ready to defend himself.'

'Against _name calling?_'

They eyed each other in complete bewilderment. Jane remembered back when she'd thought he was crazy and he hadn't understood why she wasn't helping him. Cultural differences. Times nine thousand. 'So, you wouldn't do this if he'd called you an asshole or something,' she said.

'That is just a word,' said Thor.

'And nithing isn't?'

Thor ran his hands through his hair. 'Anyone may kill a nithing where they stand. They may not give them food, or shelter. A nithing is not a person and cannot be allowed to act as one. To call someone a nithing, truthfully, is to announce their death sentence. To lie is to announce your own.'

Okay, maybe not just an insult. Maybe the closest equivalent Jane could think of was going into a redneck bar and announcing someone was a pedophile. You were, at the very least, hoping for everyone present to turn on the person you'd pointed out.

'No one else there knew that,' said Jane. 'Probably including the person who said it. Did you really have to attack them like that? You were trying to kill them, weren't you?'

'It was necessary. To not kill the person who makes an accusation like that is to prove it is true,' said Thor.

'That makes _no sense_,' said Jane, almost relieved to find the place where Thor's logic was broken. 'This is something that has to be official, right? We could have asked your family and they would have told us you weren't an…outlaw, or whatever it amounts to. Anyway, we know you're not the kind of person that should be killed. You could have trusted the Avengers not to believe him.'

'It is not so simple, Jane,' said Thor earnestly. 'Words have power, even those not used to cast spells. To stand before such an accusation and not be angry one must know it has truth to it, that they are in some part what they have been accused of.'

'You can be angry without trying to take someone apart!'

Thor looked, for the first time, unsure of himself. 'I have been learning that,' he said. 'But, must I allow people to be violent towards me without retaliation?'

Jane considered this. 'Without trying to kill them, sure. You're going to be going up against people trying to kill you all the time. Maybe this one tried a different way, from your perspective, but the Avengers all face people wanting them dead. And they still don't kill. Right?'

'To be a nithing is worse than death,' said Thor darkly. Then he shook himself and added seriously. 'I will think on what you say. You are right that SHIELD does not like lethal force, even against those who would use it. Perhaps I should learn from them.'

'Good,' said Jane. She grabbed his hands and gave them a quick squeeze. 'I'll try to explain your point of view to them as well. Maybe they'll stop locking you up once they understand.'

'It would be appreciated,' said Thor. 'When they attacked me, I thought they had perhaps believed him. But I have a roof, and have been fed. You have explained to me better than they did what has been going on.'

'I think that's why they let me in,' said Jane. The sound of footsteps echoing in the hall made her rise to her feet. 'I think visiting time is about to be up. See you later.'

'Farewell for now,' said Thor.

Then Coulson opened the door and Jane stepped out, ready to explain a few things. And possibly read some books on Viking culture.


End file.
